A Free State High School student has been honored for winning the top state-level prize in a national essay contest sponsored by a congressional organization, the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Nash Riggins, a sophomore, won the $1,000 first-place prize for Kansas in the 2006-07 National Peace Essay Contest.

Nash wrote a 1,500-word research paper on the topic of “Youth and Violent Conflict,” which focused on children in Uganda and Columbia.

He is on an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., where he is meeting with other state-level winners, members of Congress and foreign ambassadors while attending programs set up by the U.S. Institute of Peace.

The essay contest is an annual event open to high school students. The 2007-08 topic has already been announced: “Natural Resources and Conflict.” For more information, visit www.usip.org/npec.